1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a cast molding apparatus by which a molded article is obtained by infusing (pouring) a liquid resin into a mold, wherein the resin is then hardened by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, in processes for developing new products, in order to undertake various confirmations of the appearance and so forth of the product, reproductions of the product must first be manufactured. For example, a method of vacuum cast molding in which silicon rubber is used as a forming matrix has been widely known. More specifically, first a master model, which is a prototype of the molded product, is manufactured, and the master model is then embedded inside a liquid silicon rubber composite which is hardened by being subjected to additional applied heating. Subsequently, after the silicon rubber composite article has hardened, the master model is removed therefrom and a heat-curable resin is poured into the mold, wherein the heat curable resin becomes hardened under the application of applied heat, thereby obtaining the reproduced article.
Incidentally, it is desirable to manufacture such reproduced articles within a short time period. However, the hardening of heat-curable resins requires considerable time. Therefore, for example, a manufacturing method is known according to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 3-11471, wherein according to this reference, an ultraviolet curable liquid resin (an epoxy resin or an acrylic reactant resin) is infused into a mold made from a transparent RTV silicon composite (curable at room temperature), thereby obtaining a product which is hardened by irradiation with ultraviolet rays.
However, the molding device which is put to use in the above technique ordinarily is equipped for use only under a vacuum. For example, after the ultraviolet curable liquid resin is infused into the mold inside of a vacuum chamber, an operator must then transfer the mold to an ultraviolet irradiation exposure apparatus. Furthermore, after the hardening treatment has been performed using the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus, the operator must then extract the hardened product from the mold, and must again transport the mold back into the vacuum chamber. Thus, operations for transporting the mold add considerable complications, in addition to time expenditures, thus pointing to the problem that the molded product cannot be produced efficiently within a reasonably short time period.